Towards early diagnosis, what would be the best strategy Leng Jinhua Peking Union Medical College Hospital China 2015-May, Paris 1
Conflicts of interest! No conflict 2
Barriers to early diagnosis! Lack of awareness! May be mistakenly dismissed as routine menstrual pain, particularly in younger women! Lack of nonsurgical markers significantly delay diagnosis! Typically, women with endometriosis suffer a delay in diagnosis of 7 12 years and may present to 5+ physicians before symptoms are addressed Ballard, et al. Fertil Steril 2010;94:20-27; Giudice, et al. Endometriosis: Science and Practice, 2012; Nnoaham KE, et al. Fertil Steril 2012;98:692-701; Quibel, et al. Gynecol Obstet Fertil Epub 19 Apr 2012. 3
Current Diagnostic Techniques Laparoscopic visualisation - ideally with confirmatory histology 1 Definitive Suggestive New techniques Typical clinical symptoms and signs (e.g. uterosacral nodularity) 2,3 Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound 4 Laboratory tests currently fail to show predictive value 5,6 Endometrial markers 7 1. Kennedy, et al. Hum Reprod 2005;20(10):2698-704; 2. Mounsey, et al. Am Fam Physician 2006;74(4):594-600; 3. Matorras, et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;174(2):620-3; 4. Bazot, et al. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2005;12(2):178-85; 5. Bedaiwy, et al. Clin Chim Acta 2004;340(1-2):41-56; 6. Matalliotakis, et al. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2005;271(1):40-5; 7. Al-Jefout, M, et al. Hum Reprod 2009;24(12):3019-24. 7. Bokor, A, et al. Human Reproduction 2009;24(12):3025-32. 4
History and physical examination for diagnosis! Clinical history and pelvic examination can highlight the possibility of endometriosis, but have limited value due to heterogeneity in clinical presentation 1-3! Abnormalities on clinical examination correlate with the presence of endometriosis on laparoscopy in 70% to 90% of cases 4 1. Spaczynski, et al. Semin Reprod Med 2003;21(2):193-208; 2. Fauconnier, et al. Hum Reprod Update 2005;11(6):595-606; 3. Ballard, et al. BJOG 2008;115(11):1382-91; 4. Ling FW. Obstet Gynecol 1999;93(1):51-8. 5
How do fully comprehensive patientcentered descriptions of EM symptoms! Detailed knowledge of pelvic pain characteristics was found to be helpful in the pre-operative assessment of patients with suspected EM! The various existing pain questionnaires and pain scales to assess symptoms related to EM were primary developed on the clinician s basis! The qualitative study results indicated :! Patients and clinicians identified the same five categories of pain symptoms Severe pelvic pain and dysmenorrhoea, Dyspareunia, Gastrointestinal symptoms, Bladder symptoms, Other symptoms! Clinicians description, especially on the severe pelvic pain and dysmenorrhoea, is incomplete Fauconnier A, et al. Hum Reprod 2013;28(10):2686-94. 6
A clinical screening tool: symptom-based predictive model! Using the clinical information to predict EM before surgery! Symptoms! Medical history profiles! Ultrasound evidence Nnoaham KE, et al. Fertil Steril 2012;98(3):692-701. 7
A clinical screening tool: symptom-based predictive model Receiver operating characteristic curves for the full models predicting any-stage and stage III or IV endometriosis! A combination of symptom characteristics and variables in the medical history, with or without ultrasound evidence of cysts/nodules, can predict the finding of stage III/ IV EM at laparoscopy with reasonably good accuracy Nnoaham KE, et al. Fertility and Sterility 2012;98:692-701. 8
Surgical diagnosis and staging! Laparoscopic intervention is the primary means of definitive diagnosis! Clinically visualized findings may represent the tip of the iceberg! Glands + stroma = gold standard diagnosis, but fibrosis + hemosiderin-laden macrophages may be sufficient for presumptive diagnosis! Accuracy of diagnosis depends on ability of surgeon to adequately identify disease Kim, et al. Glob Libr Women s Med July 2008. ISSN: 1756-2228. 9
Laparoscopy Advantages Disadvantages 2,3 Gold standard investigation technique 1 Facilities/surgical expertise not universally available Not all patients are suitable for invasive techniques Possibility to diagnose and treat during one procedure False-positive and false-negative findings Risk of major complications (bowel injury and vascular injury) 1. Kennedy, et al. Hum Reprod 2005;20(10):2698-704; 2. Brosens, et al. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2000;88(2):117-9; 3. Al-Jefout, et al. Hum Reprod 2009;24(12):3019-24. 10
Typical EM lesions Red lesions White lesions Mixed lesions Blue lesions 11
Atypical EM lesions 12
Ovarian endometrioma with adhesion to neighborhood structures 13
Histological features 2 or more of the following histologic features are criteria for diagnosis: " Endometrial epithelium " Endometrial glands " Endometrial stroma " Hemosiderin-laden macrophages The ESHRE Guideline on Endometriosis 2008. 14
Study on the correlation between laparoscopic and histologic diagnosis of endometriosis! 62 cases of laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis performed by one surgeon, locations and colours of different lesions were recorded! Excision of lesions or biopsy of normal-appearing peritoneum or ovarian cystectomy were performed, 273 specimens! Histologic evaluation! Correlation between laparoscopic diagnosis and pathological findings! Sen, Spe, PPV, NPV of laparoscopic diagnosis Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13. 15
PPVs of lesions for different biopsy sites 90 84.7% 82.1% 80 70 60 57.1% 60.0% 67.6% 50 40 40.7% 35.3% 30 20 10 0! PPVs varied among sites. The total PPV was 67.6%, with highest of 83% for lesions at u/s lig Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13.
PPVs of different colours of lesions 94.2% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 71. 0% 67.6% 32.8% 30.8% red lesion blue lesion write lesion mixed lesion total! Highest PPV of 94.2% for black(blue) lesion and lower of about 30% for red or mixed lesions! The sensitivity 97.3% Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13. 17
NPVs of normal-appearing peritoneal biopsies 83 82,5 82,8 82 81,5 81,5 81 80,5 80 79,5 79 78,5 80 80 bladder flap broad lig u/s lig total %! 18.5% of normal-appearing peritoneal biopsies were confirmed to be endometriosis histologically! Specificity was low (38.3%) Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13. 18
Histologic diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis! 80.3% (57/71) cysts were histologically confirmed! Of 55 cases with ovarian endometrioma, each patient had at least one cyst confirmed histologically to be endometriosis Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13. 19
Conclusions of our study! Laparoscopy might reach 100% diagnostic accuracy with histology for patients with endometriosis.! Black lesions and deep nodules in U/S ligament are of higher PPV than other colours or locations Leng JH, et al. Clin J Obs Gynecol 2006;41(2):111-13. 20
Accuracy of visual diagnosis (laparoscopy) of endometriosis! Positive predictive values vary greatly: 25 100% 1! Deep lesions are more accurately diagnosed than superficial lesions: 2! Odds ratio for deep lesions: 2.50 (1.50 4.18; p<0.01)! Odds ratio for superficial lesions: 0.16 (0.06 0.41; p<0.01)! Endometriosis was accurately diagnosed in 49.7% of ASRM 2 stage 1! Low accuracy for peritoneal lesions! Deep endometriosis was more likely to be diagnosed accurately than superficial endometriosis! Larger lesions diagnosed more accurately than smaller lesions. Wykes, et al. BJOG 2004;111(11):1204-12; 2. Fernando, et al. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2013;20(6):783-9. 21
Difficulties in lesion assessment! Lesion inspection! Very varied peritoneal lesion appearances! Depth and location of lesions! Bulk of lesions and tissue distortion; adhesions! Inter-observer variability! Pathology assessment! Diathermy artefact, especially small biopsy samples! Serial sections! Limited tissue amount; stroma only! Previous surgery and scarring 22
Narrow band imaging laparoscopy could more effectively detect peritoneal endometriosis! Blue and green narrow band lights source using 415 and 540nm filters can be absorbed into the blood, increase the contrast and definition of vascular pattern in mucosa and submucosa, and improve the accuracy of diagnosis Conventional laparoscopy NBI For peritoneal lesions, sensitivity is 92.3%, specificity is 63%, PPV: 68%, higher than that of conventional laparoscopy Leng JH, et al. Prog Obstet Gynecol 2009;18(5):359-62. 23
Conventional and NBI laparoscopy! Imaging of different colour lesions: " Red and blue lesions show the blue and black " White lesions show the white with blue vascular net and clear lesion margin 24
Ultrasound diagnosis of endometrioma! Criteria for diagnosis by ultrasound: 1! Typical endometrioma: a unilocular cyst with ground glass echogenicity and no to moderate vascularization! Atypical endometrioma: a unilocular cyst with ground glass echogenicity and papillary projections (protrusion of solid tissue into the cyst lumen with a height of 3 mm or more), and no flow inside the papillary projection! Postmenopausal women are less likely to have unilocular cysts and to exhibit ground glass echogenicity 2 1. Guerriero S, et al. Hum Reprod 1998;13(6):1691-5; Van Holsbeke C, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2010;35(3):349-53. 25
U/S to detect adhesions in the presence of endometrioma! The presence of pelvic fluid, fine septa (adhesions) can be seen between the ovary, the endometrioma, the uterus, or the peritoneum of the pouch of Douglas (POD) 1! The sliding sign: gentle pressure is placed against the cervix with the transvaginal probe to establish whether the anterior rectum glides freely across the posterior aspect of the cervix (posterior cervical region) and posterior vaginal wall 2! Kissing ovaries: The detection of kissing ovaries at TVS is confirmed to be associated with the presence of intestinal deep endometriosis and longer operating time but its diagnostic accuracy in term of sensitivity is poor and it cannot used in the clinical practice as soft marker of rectosigmoid endometriosis 3 1. Okaro E, et al. BJOG 2006;113(3):251-6; 2. Reid S, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2013;41(6):685-91. 3. Guerriero S, et al. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2013;42:93. 26
Endometrioma diagnosis: MRI! MRI is requested in selected cases if ultrasound outcome is inconclusive, if malignant transformation is suspected, or both 1! MRI has a high specificity (98%) in diagnosing endometriomas 1! Owing to its ability to characterize hemorrhage, shading is a specific MRI of sign for endometrioma 1. Hottat N, et al. Radiology 2009;253:126-134. 27
DIE diagnosis! DIE is difficult to diagnose, and there is usually a significant delay in diagnosing endometriosis 1,2! Diagnostic delay is longer in more severe cases 3! Specialized radiological assessments may be needed to detect DIE lesions preoperatively: U/S, MRI, rectal endoscopic ultrasonography 4-6 1. Hadfield R, et al. Hum Reprod 1996;11(4):878-80; 2. Husby GK, et al. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2003;82(7):649-53; 3. Matsuzaki S, et al. Fertil Steril 2006;86(5):1314-6; 4. Kinkel K, et al. Hum Reprod 1999;14(4):1080-6; 5. Abrao MS, et al. Hum Reprod 2007;22(12):3092-7; 6. Piketty µ, et al. Hum Reprod 2009;24(3):602-7. 28
A clinical score can predict associated DIE before surgery for an endometrioma! The first clinical model to determine the likelihood of having DIE from the U/S diagnosis of an ovarian cyst using four clinical symptoms: Clinical symptom! Absent = 0; present = 1; then x coefficient! <13 = low risk; predicted risk = 10% (95% CI: 7 15)! 35 = high risk; predicted risk = 88% (95% CI: 83 92) Coefficient Dyspareunia VAS score >5 or GI symptoms 5 18 Duration of pain for over 24 months 13 Prescription of the oral contraceptive pill for severe primary dysmenorrhea or worsening of secondary dysmenorrhea Primary or secondary infertility 9 13 Lafay Pillet MC, et al. Hum Reprod 2014;29(8):1666-76. 29
MRI signs suggestive of posterior and lateral wall DIE! Presence of macroscopic endometriosis implants (>5 mm)! Disappearance of the fat tissue plane separating the different structures! Direct signs of adhesions are well displayed on T2 -weighted imaging as hypointense bands, with variable thickness! Uterosacral ligament increased and inhomogeneous thickness! Presence of specific signs of posterior cul-de-sac obliteration:! Retroflexed uterus! Tethered appearance of the rectum in direction of the uterus! Strands between the uterus and intestine! Fibrotic plaque covering the serosal surface of the uterus! Elevated posterior cervical fornix Bazot M, et al. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 2005;12(2):178-85. 30
MRI for DIE! May detect even smallest of lesions and distinguish hemorrhagic signal of endometriotic implants! Superior to CT scan in detecting limits between muscles and abdominal subcutaneous tissues! T1-weighted images, hyperintense foci may be visualized; this finding is highly specific for endometriosis Region MRI sensitivity 1 MRI specificity 1 Retrocervical space 89.4% 92.3% Rectosigmoid space 86.0% 92.9% Bladder 23.1% 100% Ureters 50.0% 100% Vagina 72.7% 100% 1. Chamié LP, et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2009;106(3):198-201. 31
Specific evaluation for bowel involvement! If rectal nodules was found during pelvic exam, MRI was used to evaluate infiltration depth and rectal stenosis! If protrusion or stenosis of rectum was found, coloscopy is suggested to evaluate sigmoid- rectal lumen and biopsy to exclude rectal malignancy Peking Union Medical College Hospital data. 32
Specific evaluation for ureter involvement! DIE may affect ureter, leading to hydroureter or hydronephrosis. MRI or CTU are used to evaluate the location and extent of damage of the ureter! Renogram may be used for evaluation of renal function Peking Union Medical College Hospital data. 33
Current leads for non-invasive diagnosis! Multiple publications on biomarker studies in blood, urine, endometrial biopsy, peritoneal fluid or combinations! Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) criteria; systematic review of >50 potential biomarkers identified in literature Have not yet identified a single clinically useful non-invasive diagnostic biomarker or panel of biomarkers. More studies are needed before biomarkers can be introduced into clinical practice Patacchiola F, et al. Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol 2013;40(4):524-30. 34
Diagnostic value of plasma micrornas in endometriosis Jia SZ, et al. Hum Reprod 2013;28(2):322-30.! Heat map showing 27 differentially expressed (fold change = 2) micrornas from plasma samples of women with endometriosis and controls having uterine leiomyoma but free of endometriosis. Each row represents one microrna, and each column represents a plasma sample. The legend on the right indicates the microrna represented in the corresponding row. The relative microrna expression is depicted according to the color scale. Red indicates up-regulation; green indicates downregulation. The numbers with E indicate endometriosis; numbers with C indicate controls. 35
Diagnostic value of plasma micrornas in endometriosis! Validation of microrna expression by qrt PCR analysis in plasma samples from women with and without endometriosis. Plasma mir-17-5p, mir-20a and mir-22 were significantly down-regulated in women with endometriosis compared with controls. Red indicates women with endometriosis and blue indicates women that are endometriosis-free.! ROC curve analysis using plasma micrornas for discriminating endometriosis. ROC curve analyses revealed that the plasma levels of mir-17-5p, mir-20a and mir-22 were useful biomarkers for differentiating women with and without endometriosis, with AUC values of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.58 0.90), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.65 0.93) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.71 0.98), respectively. When the three micrornas were combined by multiplication, the AUC values for differentiating women with and without endometriosis were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.65 0.93), 0.87 (95% CI: 0.74 0.99), 0.88 (95% CI: 0.76 1.00) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80 1.00), respectively. Jia S Z, et al. Hum Reprod,2013,28(2):322-330. 36
Proposed serum, urine and endometrial markers! Proposed serum biomarkers include:! Interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8! Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α! Macrophage migration inhibitory factor! Macrophage chemotactic protein-1! Interferon-γ! Leptin! CA-125! Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)! Other markers! Nerve fibre density in the endometrium! Neurotrophins in the endometrium or circulation! MicroRNA (mirna) in endometrial biopsies and endometriotic lesions! Urine markers! Urine peptide biomarkers using magnetic beads-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) 1! Blood (peripheral and menstrual) markers! Myeloperoxidase (MPO)! N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG)! TNF-α! VEGF However, none of these markers has shown clinical utilization Wang L, et al. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2014;177:23-8. 37
Take home messages! Laparoscopy is the gold standard of endometriosis diagnosis! It is very important to diagnose endometriosis early, especially in young women with primary dysmenorrhea! A good history taking and thorough clinical examination are still of great value in confirming suspected endometriosis and triaging patients planned for surgery! Imaging techniques are of great value for advanced endometriosis! There is yet no valid non-invasive marker for the diagnosis of endometriosis 38